Caught In The Rain

Every company employee has at least one or two things that they despise about their job. An unexpected meeting, a company dinner with the boss, getting unwanted opinions, and being subtly pressured by their superiors. Larisa's current state is accurately described by the last aspect. Her brows twitch at the sight of all the documents that have piled up on her desk. She's only been an employee for three months; in other words, she's the newest addition to their company.

The salary she receives is enough to cover her expenses. The boss says too much nonsense but is tolerable. The other co-workers are friendly enough to chit-chat with her on their breaks. The company is also within walking distance of her new apartment. And the best part is that there is an employee next to her cubicle who has a face that could be called perfectly proportioned. Besides the pay, the second thing that motivates her to stay at this average company is that co-worker. However, that good-looking employee is about to clock out with the others, while Larisa has to stay behind and get everything done on her desk before she can get home.

She silently cursed her superiors, who were the sole reason she had to work overtime. Looking at the time, she can only dream about watching the new episode her favorite show will release in an hour. Because there's no way that she'd be home in the next hour.

When she got all the work done, it was already 8:21 P.M.

It was raining heavily when she got out of the building. Fortunately, she always had her umbrella with her these past few days because it's been raining almost every night in Manila. The morning news suddenly came to her mind. The news anchor was talking about high crime rates and unidentified killer who attack on rainy nights. And her current situation perfectly fits the next crime scene that will likely be aired on the morning news.

For a second, she hesitated about going home. But Larisa is much more optimistic. There's no way she's that unlucky to get caught by some psychopath on her way home. Besides, she has a dog waiting for her.

As she walked back to her apartment, the rain didn't subside. It was much more intense than the night before. It's no surprise that there aren't many people on the streets. She came to a halt on her way to the next alley when she heard ambiguous noises coming from the dark path. Larisa couldn't tell where the noise was coming from because the rain was nearly distorting the alley view.

In spite of that, she knows it is best not to get swayed by her curiosity. She's seen a lot of mystery crime shows, and she knows that those who poke their noses in are killed first by the killer. Instead of making that mistake, Larisa turned around and skipped that alley. Her pace is faster than before. She couldn't care less about how much water is splashing behind her; she needs to get away from there right away. Her hysteria came to an end when she bumped into someone on the next street. It was a familiar face, which she recognized in an instant. It was the face she'd been staring at all day in their company.

Relief washed all over her body.

The man in front of her caught her by her shoulders. "Larisa?" he called to her. Larisa steadied her breath before attempting to explain her situation when she noticed something odd about the person in front of her.

The heavy rain went on, and a rush of cool air went past them, bringing a faint scent of rusty iron to her nose.

"Larisa? Are you all right?" The man called again when she stayed silent.

A faint gasp escapes from her throat as she realizes that the person she's been adoring next to her cubicle is, in fact, someone who does inconceivable things.

Her throat began to dry as she tried to murmur an excuse to get away. She comes up with the excuse that she has to return to the company for her charger that she left behind. Larisa almost broke out in a cold sweat until the man she used to admire released her from his hold. It might actually be her luckiest day if she's able to leave without a scratch.

When they waved at each other and Larisa turned on her back, only then did she remember that turning your back on the killer was actually a trigger for death in the movies she had seen. Before she could know it, she was cursing as she choked on her own blood. There was a solid piece of metal that pierced her from the back of her neck through her throat.

It was an ice pick.

She could feel herself stumbling and crashing to the cold ground. Just as she's about to lose consciousness, she hears the man speak.

"How can I let you go when you've already gotten caught in the rain?"